Continental Tire passes on North Carolina, opens plant in South Carolina

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue took another hit last week when Continental Tire announced that it had decided to abandon its plans to set up a plant in her state, opting instead to take its business to South Carolina. (RELATED: Obama works to keep North Carolina blue)

In a recent press release, the North Carolina GOP alleges that Continental Tire’s decision, which will directly cost the state 1,000 jobs, was a result the governor’s opposition to right to work laws and recent allegations of cronyism made by the Associated Press.

“We have a governor who refuses to protect our ‘right-to-work’ status. Her political allegiance to the national Democratic Party and her own re-election efforts has hurt the people of North Carolina by costing us more than 1,000 jobs,” the press release states.

The Associated Press investigation cited by the state’s Republicans found that the land Continental Tire was considering acquiring is owned by a group of Democratic donors close to the governor.

It was also revealed that Perdue’s son, Garrett Perdue, works for the law firm that was consulting Continental Tire during the company’s search.

In response to the findings, Mark Johnson, Gov. Perdue’s spokesman, told the AP that the governor “doesn’t care where in the state the plant goes, who owns the land or who the company hires as its lawyer. She just wants the jobs.”

Unfortunately, Continental Tire did care. According to the Republican Party press release, the company’s decision to go to South Carolina was influenced in no small part by a desire to avoid any potential controversy.

Continental Tire’s announcement also came only one week after Perdue, at a Rotary Club event in Cary, N.C., suggested that, “We ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won’t hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover.”

However, according to the North Carolina Republican Party, the problem in their state isn’t too much democracy — it’s a leader who refuses to stand up for business.

“What North Carolina doesn’t have is a vocal governor willing stand up and fight for the right of companies to freely employ without [National Labor Relations Board] intervention,” the press release continued.

“South Carolina proved they have a governor who will strongly state her support for business, North Carolina doesn’t. The impact and results of this contrast are evidenced by Continental’s decision.”